Hope

Hope - to feel that something desired may happen.


After watching Barbara Walters interview Patrick Swayze shortly before his death I heard him say something that really opened a can of worms for me. This concept of hope. It feels like sometimes that's all we really have, after all we aren't in control so it seems to me that hope would be the next thing on the list after control. It's something we do have and it is such a powerful thing. Sometimes hope is so strong that it blocks out all reality. 


This is mom or Grandma Betty, as the kids know her. We had hope until the moment she died. In reflection I know that there was little hope she would survive, should we have abandoned all hope? Would that be like giving up on someone, especially when they themselves don't voice that they have given up hope. I know she had given up on beating cancer long before she died, I think she let us hold onto the hope simply because she couldn't take that away from us, it was all we had left. 

In the Swayze interview he was reflecting on the media reports of his imminent death and how they affected him and his family and he said they angered him because they took hope from his family. I was struck by what he didn't say which was how they took hope from him, or did they or does the person dying have hope or is that something for the loved ones and does the person dying hear something different then everyone else? I hope I'm never in a position to find out but it makes me wonder and wish that I had been more attuned to what was going on when mom was dying. Would the questions I asked have been different if I had no hope that she would make it? Did the hope blind me from a reality and keep me from asking those questions and making that connection that I want now? Isn't she beautiful.

This is Play Doh

See this it's a piece of Play Doh. You can do all sorts of things with it and we love it in our house

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Here Little Mama is giving a lesson on how to play with Play Doh. I guess the question is 'Who needs a lesson on playing with Play Doh?'

This is the Texas star that we teach our young-ins to reproduce at an early age.

The Rhino is trying to see if he remembers how to actually play with the Play Doh.

Oh yeah he remembers in short order

Little Man is thinking how interesting The Rhino is when he is making sea creatures out of his Play Doh.

Little Man cuts deep when he loves !!!

Even Oma gets in the Play Doh action.

I actually love Play Doh for so many reasons these are a few :

It's portable

If it falls in the carpet it will eventually vacuum up

It's non-toxic ( so all my kids were Play Doh eaters)

It smells fabulous, almost like cookie dough

It comes on sooooo many colors

It's soft

It's cheap

and many more wonderful reasons .

In My Rocket Ship

Sometimes there is a need to take off in a rocket ship. Little Man and I have started kind of a new ritual where we go on my bed and get under the sheets. We then take off (shake our bodies like we are having convulsions) and go on a long rocket ride.

Often Little Man stops to play a game he has brought into the rocket.

Often we just take a quick trip to the Moon for a little cheese, it gets really hot in our rocket.

When we have had a few giggles and a little cheese (and a few more convulsions) we land and come out for a breather.

I love these kind of special things that I get to do with the kids. Sometimes Little Man asks for some cheese and he wants me to come with him. I have figured out this means let's take a ride in our rocket to get some cheese.

The Rhino was always my snuggle worm and he would see how close he could snuggle to me, for all of about 10 seconds. Those are the memories that are so special. I wonder when he is 25 will he still snuggle with me??? I think it's just in his nature.

Manners What Manners

It is a challenge to eat out with a 2 yr old, I know this well. In case anyone has forgotten I'll let you reminisce with a few pictures of the other night.

So it all starts like this. He's looking at Terri and saying "how many fingers shoved up my nose does it take to get her aggitated?"

And when just 2 fingers won't do, he figures out that there isn't another hole there to stick another finger in so he does the old "hey are you looking at me" nod of his head.

And that's when all control is lost and people start attacking one another right in the middle of the restaurant. I give her credit she held out much longer than I did, although when I saw him doing the 2 finger dig all I could think was "where is my camera and who cares about the other patrons gagging". There were no children harmed in this picture as you can clearly see that is a smiling grimace on her face and no her hand is not all the way around his neck she is trying to keep him from falling out of the chair.

Well I guess she wasn't holding on tight enough around his neck, I mean shoulder. Again no children were harmed in any of these pictures.

And then this happens when the food takes to long or the conversation is going well or people haven't finished their meal or he is just plain old ready to go.

I'll stop with this one thought, you know at this age all this behavior is expected and even looked upon as a learning experience for him. It's when they get a little older and they behave like this that I start to truly get a little grumpy, ok well that's really not the only time or reason that I get grumpy but I don't want to go there.......

Drinks After Dinner

So Terri had some ladies over on Friday night, after she had dinner out. It was an interesting bunch of girls, most of them I knew. This is a picture of Terri in the red dress and 2 Brits and a Christian. They are all lovely, Oh they are also the girls that attempted the quadruple headstand. GO GIRLS !!! I would show a picture of the headstands but Terri had a dress on and her knickers were showing so I'll let her post those pics.

These are the 2 Brits, aren't they lovely !!!

And this is hopefully a new friend. Her name is Sherri and this was the first time that I had met her but I had heard alot about her. She appears to be a Wild One !

And this is the end result of a wonderful evening . I love the OFF spray bottle in the background, only in Houston is that almost as important as the wine itself.

Oh who made that really yummy looking thing ??? Looks so good !!!

Thanks Terri.

A Little Cooking

Really I have a hard time taking pictures of things when I'm cooking but I thought these were my best cooking pictures yet. Terri and I decided to have an evening of appetizers and drinks, we thought it would be fun to spend sometime cooking together. It seems we both spend some time cooking, me usually boiling pasta and Terri usually trying something new to post on her blog.

Well we both picked a few things we wanted to try and gathered at my house to try them out. She was longing to make these little raspberry cobbler things from The Pioneer Woman site. After a some doubt in the cooking time due to some serious early browning, we decided to trust The Pioneer Woman, because after all she is The Pioneer Woman and let them continue to cook the full time. They came out scrummy.

These are the prebaked cobblers, they were so good.

Don't they look so golden and delicious? Little Mama was the only kid who really enjoyed hers.

These are the Jalapeno Poppers that I thought looked so great. Then after we cooked them I realized several things. First they are good, second they hurt my tummy if I eat to many of them, and thirdly I don't like all that cream cheese. I mean don't get me wrong I like cream cheese. I think I'm more a little cream cheese with my jalapeno and this was a little jalapeno with my cream cheese. But I will make them again just using less cream cheese. Terri I had a great time, maybe next time we can dry our livers out a bit and have a cocktail while we are coking and I won't let myself get so hungry and not take a picture of the finished product.

The kids are definitely into what I like to call sidewalk games now. They are so into jump roping that I'm going to buy them each their own "real" jump ropes. The Hula Hoop always goes in phases as well. Now is that phase again.

This is the way things started, a little Hula Hooping among the girls, then some others get interested and the party starts. Oma is an accomplished Hooper which isn't really surprising with her dancing background.

The Rhino can really get into it. He added a little extra flare to his face, really it doesn't contort like that unless he is trying to be cool and Hula at the same time.

Those lips are in the middle of PUCKER practice, any takers? OK I'll let you in on a secret, The Rhino gives the best hugs and the WETTEST kisses, she will be a lucky one when he finds her !!!

OK I'll take all them kisses !!!

Oh and Little Mama, she has the Hula Hooping down to a serious hip moving action. She should take belly dancing lessons, maybe Oma would like to do that with her cause heaven knows that my belly and belly dancing probably not such a good idea?

I'm all about the hand actions in these photos. It's one of those things that she does all the time and I know she doesn't have any idea what she's doing. The hand actions will be something that I hold close to my heart as being such a part of her.

Work it Little Mama !!

Little Man had to get in the thick of things. He wants to do everything that the big kids do so why not Hula Hooping. I'm sure he will be a Hooper shortly. Go Little Man !!